


point me toward tomorrow

by playthetyrants



Series: all the world is a stage [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Louis cries a lot idk, M/M, Mpreg Louis, Musician Harry, Teacher Louis, This is basically pure fluff, get over it, harry is so sweet, i'm forgetting a lot of things, natural childbirth, please read this, the best kind of mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 18:23:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7856209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/playthetyrants/pseuds/playthetyrants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For a moment, he couldn’t hear anything but his blood pumping in his ears. He blinked a few times, wondering if the plus sign would change but of course it didn’t. He could hear his breathing speed up a bit, after letting out a shaky breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. His stomach was churning now, everything seeming to hit him in one big mental crash.</p><p>He was pregnant. He was gonna have a baby. </p><p>Scratch that, he and Harry were gonna have a baby. </p><p>He and Harry were going to be parents. </p><p> </p><p>or the one where Louis is a high school theatre teacher married to his songwriter husband Harry, and they find out they're having a baby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	point me toward tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> hello all! I love writing mpreg so much that I decided to write this original AU before college starts back up. I absolutely loved writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading!

Louis supposes he can trace this entire situation all the way back to a Shakespeare book. 

Well, more specifically, an encyclopedia of Shakespeare's works and a half empty bottle of Grey Goose. 

The night was a pleasant blur; he’d been lying in bed, a lap full of yellow highlighters and pencils with the large book resting against his thighs, his knees pulled up on the mattress and his back against the many pillows of his and Harry’s bed. He’d been wearing his favorite sweatpants; the grey ones that were a bit too long and always rolled up at the ankles, and one of his many show shirts from his school. This one in particular was the one from when they did The Wizard of Oz, and the design on it was one that made his husband laugh every time he saw it. 

So, really, he guesses he can trace it back to the shirt as well. 

Louis scratched his head a bit, leaving the memory behind in his head before staring down at the plastic bag from the drugstore down the corner that was now sitting in his bathroom sink. He was killing time with his thoughts, trying to distract himself from the fact that inside that very bag was an unopened pregnancy test that needed to be taken quickly. 

He squirmed a bit, remembering the large bottle of water he had bought and downed on the way home as he tried to avoid hitting people on the sidewalk, none of them really paying attention to the nervous man inhaling his drink. When you live in Los Angeles, nothing’s really that strange anymore. 

He looked up into the mirror in front of him, making a face. His hair was a mess, brown locks sticking up in all sorts of directions and he tried to comb it out with his fingers briefly. He looked tired, probably due to the fact that he had been feeling weird the past month or so and had had a revelation the night before, nearly knocking Harry off the bed during his slumber. At first, he had called himself stupid and rolled back over in bed, trying to ignore the panic mode his brain had suddenly set in. 

No, there was no way. He and Harry always used protection, and they weren’t even trying for a baby. Besides, he had been super busy trying to pick out shows for his students this next school year and Harry had been busy writing music, they hadn’t really had time to do much of anything all summer. 

And then, with a sort of falling feeling in his stomach, he’d caught eye of the Shakespeare book sitting on his bedside table and the night from a few weeks before, filled with laughter and vodka had come barrelling back at him, and he hadn’t been able to sleep for the rest of the night. 

He sighed a bit, his shoulders rising and falling in the mirror as Harry’s baggy shirt hung loosely around his frame. He chewed on his lips, hearing the faint beginnings of a piano playing down the hallway, figuring Harry was already up and working hard on his music at 10 am. 

Louis’ blue eyes fell back down to the bag sitting in front of him, staring at it for a moment more before reaching in and taking the box, scanning the words carefully on the front.  
He squinted at the tiny, newborn baby on the front of the box and grimaced a bit, sliding his fingernail under the top of the packaging and opening it up, shaking the little plastic stick out into his palm. He could already feel sweat accumulating on his hands, swallowing thickly at the sight of the purple and white test. 

“Just pee on the stick, for God’s sake, Louis,” he muttered to himself, reaching behind him and shutting the door before making a beeline for the toilet. Harry’s piano notes were muffled now, making Louis feel strangely isolated and alone for a split second. He shook his head, taking a deep breath and closed his eyes. 

For a moment, Louis was certain that the test would come out negative. He and Harry had gotten drunk together loads of times and had never had a scare like this. It was second nature to them to use condoms, and after being married for 2 years, they’d automatically reach over for them in the top drawer of their bedside tables without even realizing it.  
Louis snapped the cap back onto the top part of the test when he finished, setting it on the counter as he washed his hands, staring at it as he did. There was no way, he concluded to himself as he dried his hands off with a towel. No, he had just psyched himself out last night. School was about to start next week and he was nervous because he still didn’t have his shows picked out. The stress was eating at him, no big deal. 

So, maybe that’s why a few minutes later (10 minutes to be exact, according to the stupid box), Louis was feeling his entire body go numb, both of his hands holding up this stupid plastic stick in front of his face, his mouth hanging open at the sight of a tiny little pink plus sign. 

For a moment, he couldn’t hear anything but his blood pumping in his ears. He blinked a few times, wondering if the plus sign would change but of course it didn’t. He could hear his breathing speed up a bit, after letting out a shaky breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding in. His stomach was churning now, everything seeming to hit him in one big mental crash. 

He was pregnant. He was gonna have a baby. 

Scratch that, he and Harry were gonna have a baby. 

He and Harry were going to be parents. 

For a moment, he let it all sink in, his mind racing a mile a minute, setting down the test back on the counter, seeming to tease him from there. He lifted his hands up and rubbed his eyes vigorously, sliding his fingers through his hair once before blinking back at his reflection in the mirror again. 

This was a man who was now carrying a child, a man who was going to be a father in a few months time, dressed in his husband’s old T-shirt and baggy sweatpants and who’d probably not showered in two days. 

“Jesus Christ,” he groaned loudly, leaning against the sink on his elbows and burying his face into his hands. He heard Harry’s soft, low voice begin to ring out from down the hall, along with the piano notes and he shot his head up immediately, feeling nauseous as he did. 

He had to tell Harry now. 

Louis found himself padding down the hallway a few moments later, twisting the test nervously in his hands as he did, following the sound of Harry’s voice to his studio in the back of the hall. His voice was what Louis figured heaven sounded like when you arrived at those pearly gates; raspy and deep and warm and just comforting altogether. Louis could never figure out why he’d decided to go into songwriting and never became a singer himself. 

He approached the door, peering slowly though the small crack to see his husband busy scribbling away at his music sheets, hunched over the piano, the muscles in his back rippling slightly against his white shirt and Louis had to bite his lip to keep quiet. His long curls were swept up into a large bun on the top of his head, his leg bouncing slightly in his black shorts as he finished his writing. 

He hadn’t seemed to notice Louis yet, and Louis figured now was as good a time as ever to break the news to his husband that he’d knocked him up. He pushed the door open with his small hand, clutching the test in his other one and opened his mouth to speak before he was drowned out with piano notes once more. Louis frowned a bit, furrowing his eyebrows as Harry still paid no notice to him, humming along to some tune he’d just thought up before he cleared his throat rather loudly. Harry stopped suddenly, blinking in confusion and turning towards the door before his face lit up with a smile, pulling his hands from the keyboard. 

“Louis! Good morning, sunshine.” Louis smiled a bit awkwardly, feeling more and more nauseous but Harry didn’t seem to notice, beckoning him forward with one hand. “Come here, I wanna show you these lyrics I just wrote…” 

Louis nodded slowly, bracing himself and sliding his hands behind his back, still protecting the test in his palm as he walked over, glancing at the sheet music in front of him. 

“Harry, those are beautiful...you’re writing a love song?” He felt his cheeks flush a bit as Harry kissed his temple, pulling him to sit in his lap. Louis quickly yanked his hands back around to rest in his lap, hastily pulling them close to his body as Harry hummed happily in response. 

“Sure am. Zayn and Liam felt they needed a slower song on the album as well, so…” He leaned forward once more, snaking his arms around Louis’ waist and kissing at his jawline and Louis shivered involuntarily, blinking furiously. “I’d been meaning to thank my inspiration, actually…” His breath was hot against Louis’ ear and his mind was spinning, struggling to stay seated on his thighs as Harry began to suck softly at a spot right below his ear. 

“Why don’t I thank you with a little trip to the bedroom, hm?” Louis felt his large hand begin to snake up his shirt and finally he just couldn’t take it anymore. 

“I’m pregnant!” he blurted out suddenly, jumping from Harry’s lap and backing up quickly, nearly stumbling over his own feet as he did. Harry blinked slowly, staring at him almost blankly and Louis quite literally threw the test at his chest, not knowing what to do and feeling the panic set in. 

“I just took it, it’s positive! You know I’ve been feeling off the past few weeks, and at first I thought it was just stress but then I remembered that night you came in with the Grey Goose and you were already tipsy and laughing at my shirt and I was trying to work on my Shakespeare script and you told me I needed to relax, so I did and then suddenly the book was on the floor and you and I were naked in bed and I THOUGHT we used protection, but now that I think about it I don’t know if we did and so last night I decided to take a test and now that it’s positive I really want to tell Shakespeare to go fuck himself…” Louis wasn’t even aware that he was able to even speak that fast, and he just couldn’t stop the word vomit that was tumbling out now. He was pacing the room, back and forth in front of the door and Harry was absolutely silent, staring at the test in his hands and seeming to ignore everything Louis was even saying. 

Louis finally began to stop talking, his voice faltering as he caught sight of his husband like that, stopping his pacing and standing in front of him, swallowing nervously. He kept wiping his very sweaty hands against the sides of his sweatpants, waiting for Harry to even move, let alone say something. 

“Look, Harry...I don’t know what to do. It’s been..what, over a month since that? I’ve gotta be like...at least a month in, if not longer, and…” His voice cracked a bit and that finally got Harry’s attention, his head snapping up and staring Louis down with those sharp green eyes. 

Louis bit his bottom lip to keep it from trembling, feeling his chest tighten up and tears beginning to sting the corners of his eyes before shaking his head slightly and shrugging. “I start back to work in a couple weeks and I...I’m just so scared.” 

Something seemed to flash across Harry’s face, waking him up a bit before he stood up, still holding onto the plastic little stick in one hand before walking over to his husband, wrapping him up tightly in his arms. Louis sniffled a bit, burying his face into his chest before sliding his arms around his waist in return, closing his eyes briefly. 

“Louis…” Harry murmured, tilting his head downward, whispering into his ear. “We’re having a baby.” 

And honestly, Louis should’ve been expecting this. He couldn’t hide the glee in his voice, the joyful tone and Louis had to smile at himself, sniffling once more before letting go and straightening back up, nodding and wiping his nose with his sleeve. 

“Yeah, we are…” And it’s not like Louis and Harry hadn’t planned on kids eventually. They had just...pictured themselves much older. But looking up at his husband’s face, his own eyes sparkling with tears it seemed like the panic was finally starting to fade. 

Harry grinned happily, glancing at the test in his hand again before setting it on the keyboard, getting down on his knees right in front of Louis. Louis wiped his nose again, giggling softly as Harry pointed to his stomach, shaking his head with disbelief. “Louis, there’s a baby in there. Our baby is in there.” 

He felt butterflies in his stomach at his husband’s words, merely nodding in agreement and watching him quietly. Harry fell silent for a moment, staring at the baggy fabric of his shirt before he gently lifted it up. His stomach was obviously still very flat, no shape having formed as of yet but Harry still reached out slowly, his cold fingertips making contact with his skin and he shivered slightly. 

Harry held his shirt up with one hand, running his fingertip along the edge of his tummy with the other, smiling to himself and Louis was absolutely melting, nearly reaching out to stroke his husband’s hair but suddenly stopped when Harry pressed a kiss to his skin. 

“You’re probably not even as big as my fingernail and you have no ears to hear this with, but I just want you to know that we already love you so, so much.” And if Louis wasn’t crying before, he definitely was now. 

That’s how they spent that humid August morning together, curled up in the floor, crying happily into each other’s shirts and kissing each other in between tears, mumbling soft “I love you’s” over and over again as it finally dawned on them that they were going to be parents. 

Well, Louis thought idly to himself. Maybe Shakespeare didn’t have to go fuck himself after all. 

They managed to get a doctor’s appointment the following day (Harry had a famous sounding name, and in L.A. that meant all the difference). Louis was a bit nervous, laying down on the sterilized bed and clutching onto Harry’s hand the entire time as their doctor, a young woman named Lauren, complete with a soft smile and bright red hair and a cheery, slightly high pitched voice, talked their ear off about all of the things that needed to happen now that he was pregnant. 

“I’ll send you home with vitamins, and you need to starting drinking a LOT of water and eating healthy…” The list was overwhelming but she had a calm way of speaking, and Harry was smiling the entire time, nodding along with her as if he was the one carrying their baby. Louis grinned to himself and nodded when appropriate, watching her sit down on a little stool and scan a piece of paper briefly.

“According to this you’re already 6 and a half weeks along! A whole month and a half under the belt already, Louis.” She smiled at him and Harry was nearly bouncing with excitement in his own chair, squeezing Louis’ hand. 

“Can you like, see anything with an ultrasound yet?” he asked, Louis giggling a bit and Lauren laughing and shaking her head. 

“Probably not, and if so he or she would just resemble a little bean. But heartbeats are often detectable at this point, so we can try for that.” Louis jumped a bit at the icy cold feeling of the ultrasound gel on his stomach, Lauren flashing him an apologetic look. “Sorry love, it’s best to get used to it now. It’s always really cold.” 

Harry was busy planting little kisses on Louis’ knuckles, waiting patiently for Lauren to finish up and Louis nearly melted at the sight on his face when she began pressing the remote into Louis’ stomach, a soft and rhythmic sound beginning to fill the room. 

“Is that it?!” Harry asked excitedly, a grin breaking across his entire face and Louis really couldn’t believe this was happening. Lauren smiled and nodded, keeping pressure on his tummy. 

“Yes, it is. Sounds very healthy as well, just as it should at this time in the pregnancy.” Louis leaned his head back against the bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling and taking a deep breath.

This was real. This was extremely, indefinitely, very real. His and Harry’s baby was growing inside of him. 

He was broken from his thoughtful reverie as Harry leaned forward and planted a big kiss on his cheek, blinking over at him as Lauren lifted the remote and wiped the goo from his stomach. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my entire life,” Harry mused, and Louis wanted to melt once more when he caught sight of his husband’s face, all glowy and beaming and he grinned back, kissing the tip of his nose. 

“Me either,” he concluded, causing Harry to blush slightly. 

Lauren made them another appointment in a month, commenting on the fact that everything was in perfect order, urging them to call her if anything changed or if Louis felt off. Before they left she made a comment saying that Louis would probably have a tiny little bump next time they came back, due to his smaller frame, and Harry just about exploded with joy at that, grabbing Louis’ hand and walking out. 

In the next couple weeks that followed before Louis started back to school, he managed to fix his eating habits, purchased a large water bottle that Harry was insistent on filling all the time, and picked out the three shows his school would be performing that year all before he went back. The night before the first day of school found Louis lounging in bed, his hands propped up on his knees and a bottle of emerald green nail polish resting in his lap, carefully painting his fingernails as Harry laid beside him, a new copy of What To Expect When You're Expecting  
being held above his face, scanning it quietly as Louis hummed beside him. 

“Louis, did you know the baby is as small as a bean but still starting to develop feet and hands?” Louis smiled to himself and shook his head, even though he knew Harry was paying no attention to him at all. 

“I didn’t, actually,” he mused, finishing up on his thumbnail and wiping a small drop of polish that had gotten on his skin. He began blowing on his nails to dry them, watching as Harry sat up suddenly, flashing him a concerned look. 

“You haven’t had any morning sickness, right?” Louis shook his head at him, watching him carefully as Harry made a face, peering back into the book. “That usually starts during the eighth week...but then again, maybe you’re lucky and won’t have it.” Louis smiled and shrugged a bit, still blowing on his fingernails as Harry reached over and closed up the bottle, setting it on the bedside table. 

“Even so, it can’t be that bad. I’ll just throw up a bit before I go to work for a couple weeks, No big deal.” 

Louis figures his cockiness and faith in his own body was what caused the betrayal he experienced the following morning, during his first class of the day on the first day of school which was full of freshman and theatre 1 students, of course. 

He’d always followed the same course of action every year; standing in front of his class, introducing himself and usually getting a laugh out of the scared high schoolers and breaking the ice before telling them all that they’d be doing the following year. Louis managed to get through half of his own introduction before something began to feel a bit...strange. 

“I graduated from school in London before moving to Los Angeles…” His voice faltered a bit and he received a few weird looks from some of the students, others just looking a bit confused. He swallowed thickly and cleared his throat, blinking and moving on. 

“I met my husband here...you’ll see him from time to time, his name’s Harry…” The unpleasant feeling in his stomach was getting worse, churning and churning away and then suddenly Louis stopped speaking altogether. 

Nikki, his student aide and a senior this year (not to mention one of his favorite kids ever), flashed him a concerned look, standing up from her spot at the edge of the room. 

“Um...Mr. Tomlinson? Are you okay?” He blinked a bit, swallowing again before holding his finger out to his class. 

“Just...one moment, please.” And then suddenly he was sprinting into his office on the other side of the black box, barely making it to the trash can before throwing up his entire breakfast along with all the water he had been drinking before class had started. He heard a strangled gasp come from Nikki and what sounded like a few giggles from the freshman, rolling his eyes internally as he finished his episode, standing up and wiping his mouth. For a moment, he stood there, contemplating what the hell he was going to say when he walked back out. 

He turned swiftly on his heel, walking back out and fixing his hair a bit, the entire class watching him with wide eyes and a tense sort of silence filling the room.  
He gave a sheepish smile, looking at all of them briefly before shrugging his shoulders. “Did I mention that I’m pregnant?” 

Nikki nearly jumped up in delight, looking absolutely ecstatic and the rest of the class seemed to relax, smiling faintly and just looking overall thankful that their teacher wasn’t completely nuts. 

When the bell rang and dismissed his first class, Nikki ran over and wrapped her arms around Louis’ waist, hugging him tightly and grinning happily at him. 

“Congrats! I can’t believe it, there’s gonna be a mini Tomlinson now!” Louis grinned and hugged her back, thanking her before letting go, backing up a bit. 

“Did you study up on those plays I told you to this summer?” he asked, raising an eyebrow before she nodded quickly, dropping her arms. 

“Of course. My personal favorite was The Nether, but I think it’s because I’m a sucker for modern plays.” She smiled happily and gestured to her backpack. “I have some blocking and set designs I want to show you later, if that’s fine.” 

Louis smiled and nodded, waving her off as the second warning bell rang. “Of course. Hang around after seventh period and I’ll take a look. Now go to class, don’t want to be late during your senior year!” Nikki grinned happily and picked up her bag from the floor, jogging out and waving goodbye as his theatre 2 kids began filtering their way into the classroom, looking around silently at the room as they did. 

Louis quickly made a beeline for his office once more, popping a bunch of mints into his mouth while simultaneously pulling out his phone and texting Harry.

'Just threw up in the middle of my first period class. Guess you were wrong about me not getting morning sickness :/ '

He peered through the window of his office for a moment, trying to pick out familiar faces from last year and was distracted by his phone buzzing in his hand.

'Oh Louis, please tell me you didn’t puke on a kid. We can’t have you getting fired now. '

Louis smiled to himself, rolling his eyes as the bell rang, slipping his phone back into his pocket and walking back out. 

The rest of the day went by smoothly, majority of the kids absolutely loving him, save for the few jocks that were taking a theatre or tech class just to get a fine arts credit. His last class of the day, seventh period, was full of his advanced acting and theatre 4 students, all of them greeting him with hugs and warm welcomes. 

“Hey Mr. Tomlinson, is it true you threw up in front of the freshman this morning?” Giggles erupted across the room along with a few confused faces, Louis making a face at John, the smug senior who had decided to bring it up. 

“News travels fast around here. Yes, it’s true. I did, but I made it to the trashcan! Don’t listen to any stories they’ve been telling besides that.” John smirked and leaned back in his chair, the rest of the class turning to each other and asking about what the other had heard. From the corner of his eye, he saw Nikki sitting in her chair and flashing him a smile, tilting her head slightly as if begging him to tell the class why. 

As if right on cue, another one of his favorite students, Mariah, turned from her friend to face him, her long blonde hair swinging around to rest on her shoulders. 

“Why’d you throw up anyway? Being nervous on the first day doesn’t sound like you.” The rest of the class turned to face him immediately and he had to fight back a grin, shrugging his shoulders slightly. 

“Eh, it’s nothing. I’m just, you know...kinda pregnant, is all.” It seemed like chaos struck the room once more, majority of his kids jumping up and shouting in shock, running over and enveloping him in some sort of giant group hug. Louis grinned, letting them all but tackle him to the ground and thanked them over and over again, feeling his heart swell with joy and love. 

He’d definitely made the right choice in becoming a teacher. 

That first day of school ended with he and Harry lazily making out in bed that night, Harry mumbling questions at him in between kisses. 

“Mmm...were they happy to see you?” Louis hummed in response, laying his head back against the pillow and closing his eyes. 

“Of course, they’ve got me for a teacher. Why wouldn’t they be?” Harry smirked softly, his lips curling against Louis’ neck before lifting his head up slightly, gazing down at him as his long curls fell in front of his eyes. 

“You’re absolutely right. What was I thinking, asking a stupid question like that?” Louis giggled softly, brushing his hair from his face before leaning up and pressing a kiss to his lips. 

“I’m tired, Harry...let’s sleep, please…” Harry nodded in response, pulling his husband to his chest and wrapping them in the comforter, Louis falling asleep quicker than he’d expected. 

The next month flew by fairly quickly; the morning sickness wore off within a couple of weeks (thankfully he never threw up in class again) and he’d auditioned and casted his students for their first show of the year, The Imaginary Invalid. He figured he’d start off with a comedy this year, plus he’d been wanting his kids to work on their Old English and Moliere was a fantastic start for that. By the time his 11 week appointment came around, Louis was thankful for this half an hour time to just lay down and breathe, take a break from work and to be with his husband. 

He now had a tiny, tiny little bump; truthfully, Louis wouldn’t call it that because it just looked like he’d just gotten fat, but Harry was convinced it was a true baby bump. Whenever Louis was laying in bed highlighting scripts, Harry would be running his fingers over it, and honestly Louis was too in love with the man to be annoyed by it. Besides, it was fucking adorable. 

“All of the tests we’ve run are coming back perfectly, you two.” Lauren smiled and set her clipboard back down on the table. “Nothing abnormal that I can see. Next week will mark 3 months, and is typically considered the safe point which means it’s very unlikely this pregnancy will end in a miscarriage. I suggest you tell your family members now, if you haven’t already.”

Louis turned his head slightly to face his husband, already seeing the sheepish look on his face before smirking and turning back to face Lauren. 

“Yeah, that’d be a smart thing to do.”

It wasn’t like they’d not wanted to tell their families. Things had just happened so quickly and they’d gotten back to school and work that there really was no time to sit down on the phones with their parents that were on a different continent and break the news. 

That night, Louis and Harry each spent over an hour on Skype with their parents (Louis went first, his mum literally bursting into happy tears while his sisters screamed with joy in the background.) Harry’s mum had the same reaction, barely able to make words and bouncing happily in her seat just like her son. They’d both sworn to be down there in a couple months for Christmas, already planning the insane amount of baby clothes and toys that were going to be brought there. 

September ended shortly after that, while October seemed to fly by within the blink of an eye. Their first show was opening on Halloween night, and Louis was very pleased with how his students had managed to work the show out. 

He definitely had some sort of bump now, a small round shape on his lower belly that made his shirts fit a bit tighter. The night of his show, Louis was busy buttoning up one of his shirts over his tummy while Harry stood behind him, gently brushing out his still damp hair as he smiled at both of their reflections in the large mirror in front of them.

“You’re so beautiful, Louis.” Louis stopped with his finger in a buttonhole, peering up at his husband through the mirror and blushing slightly, smiling softly at him. 

“Why’re you getting soft on me, Curly?” he asked, finishing with his shirt before turning to face him directly, busying himself with fixing Harry’s slightly crooked tie. 

Harry merely gazed at him, his arms now dangling from his sides, his hairbrush limp in his hand. 

“I think it’s that bump that’s making me soft.” He reached out and ran his finger along the buttons of Louis’ black shirt, smiling to himself as Louis smirked, dropping his hands. 

“This is nothing compared to the massive one I’ll have in a few months’ time. You’ll be sick of it soon enough.” Harry gasped in mock shock, turning and flipping his hair dramatically before striding from the room, Louis giggling and shutting off the lights and following him out. 

“Impossible, Louis. I’m going to be kissing your belly every second of the day when you’re that big, I can promise you that.” Louis grinned fondly, his cheeks flushing a bit before he grabbed their keys, walking towards the front door. 

“Come on, let’s go watch my students be their amazing selves.” 

The show ended up being great, as usual. It wrapped up after running for 4 days, and during the second week of November he’d just let his students relax for a bit, allowed them to catch up on sleep during their small break in between shows. His desk was being piled high with papers and drawings from the rest of his other classes, and he found himself staying after school quite a bit to try and catch up on his grading. When he did finally return home in the evenings, he didn’t get to see his husband much, as he was always downtown in the studio with Zayn and Liam, trying to wrap up their album as quickly as possible. 

These were the nights he had Niall come over, a mutual best friend of his and Harry’s that they’d met last year during a trip to London. Niall was about as carefree as they came, always happy and smiling and up for pretty much anything. He ran a music studio for kids in downtown L.A. and was always asking Louis if he needed help with scripts or show ideas. Majority of Louis’ November nights were spent in the living room downstairs, curled up in the couch with piles of graded papers between them, munching on snacks and the low hum of music playing in the background. 

“Jesus, Louis. I swear you’ve gotten bigger since I saw you last night,” Niall remarked during one of their sessions, shovelling some more popcorn into his mouth as Louis glanced down at his belly, shrugging a bit. 

“Probably have, to be honest. I’m supposed to feel him or her start moving soon, and I’m afraid it’s gonna freak me out.” Niall shuddered a bit, setting his stack of graded papers down on the table. 

“It freaks me out just to even talk about it. I think I’d pass out if I felt something kick at me from the inside.” Louis giggled slightly at him, setting down his colorfully marked script of Julius Caesar, his school’s second show of the year. 

“Don’t be a baby.” He reached over for the popcorn bowl and quickly shoved a handful of it into his mouth as Niall raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Don’t let Harry catch you cheating on your baby diet. He’ll have an aneurysm.” Louis giggled loudly, trying not to let popcorn fall from his mouth and quickly chased it down with some water as the front door suddenly burst open, loud footsteps echoing down the hallway towards the living room. 

“It’s finished!” Harry’s loud voice rang through Louis’ ears as he suddenly appeared beside the couch, leaping on it amongst the piles of papers and planting a large, wet kiss onto his husband’s lips as Niall watched them idly, still eating his popcorn.

Louis blinked rapidly, barely having time to kiss Harry back before he had jumped up once more, dancing around the room and yanking off his jacket as Louis fought back giggles, eyeing his husband happily. 

“The album’s finally finished? Congrats, darling!” Harry grinned and kept bouncing around the room, gallivanting behind the couch and pointing at Niall. 

“Hey Nialler. Long time no see! Stay for dinner sometime next week, eh?” Niall smirked and nodded, getting up and stretching. 

“Will do. Well Louis, it’s been fun grading papers but now that you’re weirdo husband’s home it’s about time for me to hit the old dusty trail.” He leaned down and grabbed the red bowl of popcorn from the couch, walking towards the front door and waving idly behind him. “I’ll bring this back next week, I need a snack for the ride home.”

Louis snorted and bid him goodbye, listening as the door shut before glancing back up at his husband again. 

“By the way, I cheated and ate some popcorn tonight. Don’t hate me.” Harry smiled and jumped back to the couch, immediately landing beside Louis and pushing him down gently against the pillows, causing him to burst into a new fit of giggles as Harry began covering his face with tiny kisses. 

“You’re forgiven, love. Besides, I’m too excited to be mad about anything anyway.” He loomed over Louis’ body for a moment, scanning his face before looking down at his belly and gasping happily. 

“Look at you! My God, you’re even bigger than you were last night, I swear.” Louis hit him on the head teasingly, grinning as Harry sat back down on his bum, reaching over and pulling Louis’ baggy shirt up. “You can’t deny the bump anymore, love.” 

Louis rolled his eyes and relaxed against the pillows, watching quietly as Harry ran his hand gently over his skin. “I keep wobbling when I walk now, and it’s only gonna get worse.” Harry snorted loudly, looking up and giving him a sympathetic look. 

“That’s actually the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard.” Louis stuck his tongue out at him as Harry laughed before leaning down and pressing a kiss right above his bellybutton.  
“Don’t worry, love. I’ll be here more often to help you out now.” 

As November came to a close, Louis promised his entire cast and crew that there would be no rehearsals during Thanksgiving break (which resulted in mostly cheers, some students were bummed about being bored for an entire week). Both his and Harry’s families were unable to fly to L.A. for Thanksgiving at all this year, so Harry and Louis both agreed to putting one on themselves. They should’ve realized early on that their lack of sleep and hard work for the past few months were bound to catch up with them at some point, and when the couple woke up around 1 pm on Thanksgiving Day, they’d decided to order Chinese takeout instead. 

That night found Louis and Harry both sitting on the floor of the kitchen, small boxes of chow mein, rice and sweet and sour chicken surrounding them. Harry had sleepily agreed to allowing Louis a cheat day earlier that afternoon, since every doctor’s appointment they went to ended up with Lauren praising him for his impeccable health. Their fridge was now covered with grainy black and white ultrasound pictures, each one getting slightly bigger and bigger as they went. Louis was now 20 weeks along, halfway through his pregnancy and honestly, he had enjoyed every single moment of it. Even the morning sickness and the frequent back pains were something he easily looked over when he saw how insanely happy his husband was. Louis was constantly watching him cast glances down at his bump, reaching out and touching it when they were watching TV or even driving in the car. Baths with Harry were even better now, his movements with Louis more and more delicate the larger he got. Basically, Louis was loving the attention and getting more and more hyped for his baby the closer they got to his late April due date. 

“Louis, pass me the chicken, will you?” Harry asked with a mouthful of rice, Louis giggling and holding his pair of chopsticks in his mouth as he leaned over and reached for the container, handing it over. 

“Here you g-” Harry’s hand wasn’t fast enough to catch the box as Louis suddenly dropped it on the tile floor, gasping loudly and dropping his chopsticks from his mouth.  
Harry frowned and swallowed quickly, immediately sitting up from leaning against the cabinet, shooting Louis a concerned look. 

“What is it? What’s wrong?” A sense of panic was taking over his voice, leaning over as Louis blinked rapidly, his hands still frozen in midair. 

“Harry...oh my God, the baby moved. It kicked me.” A long stretch of silence filled the room then, Louis making eye contact with his husband and watching Harry’s facial features grow soft, staring at him in almost utter disbelief.

“I...really?” he pressed, his green eyes wide and Louis merely nodded in response, failing to keep a huge grin from spreading across his face as he laughed in shock. 

“Yes, really! It was right here!” He gestured to a spot on his upper belly and Harry quickly scooted himself over, reaching out his large hand and pressing it to his skin gently.  
“Harry, keep talking! I think he or she likes your voice, I can feel them wiggling around inside!” Louis really could not believe what was happening, and it all felt a bit surreal to him as he watched his husband lean down quickly, peering intently at his belly before speaking. 

“Hello, little one...it’s me again. You’ve been kicking your dad, I heard...go on and kick again, for me please…” Louis was almost positive it was the hormones that were making him tear up out of nowhere, but he kept quiet and waited as Harry kept his hand firmly placed on his skin.

“Come on, love...just a little k-” This time Harry and Louis both gasped at the same time, looking up at each other with wide eyes. “I felt it, Louis!” 

And really all Louis could do was nod in response, forgetting how to make words as tears began to fall and Harry grinned with joy, immediately sitting up and wrapping him in his arms, pulling him to sit in his lap. 

“I’m thankful for the both of you this Thanksgiving,” Harry murmured into his ear, pressing a kiss to his jawline as Louis clung to his husband’s neck, smiling and sniffling a bit as Harry rubbed tiny little circles with his thumbs against his belly.

“We’re thankful for you, too,” he managed out, and honestly fuck his hormones because now he couldn’t stop crying, and Harry merely giggled at him, wiping off his cheeks gently before kissing his forehead. 

Louis felt as if there was just a theme of crying that week, because the next day was Louis’ 20 week ultrasound and after checking on the fetal heartbeat (which was absolutely perfect), Lauren turned to the couple with a smile, raising an eyebrow as she waved her remote around in front of them. 

“Would you two like to know the sex of your baby?” And for a moment, Louis honestly was not sure. This entire time he’d been giving love to and taking care of this baby, not caring about if they were a boy or a girl, not even really stopping to think about names or colors for the nursery due to their busy schedules. He glanced over at Harry for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip.

Harry pursed his lips for a moment, looking at Lauren and then down at his husband, still running his thumb over his knuckles gently. 

“I think it’s up to you, Lou.” He smiled softly, sitting up in his chair a bit. “You’re the one carrying the baby, I think you should be able to decide what you want to do…” Louis huffed a bit at that, shooting him a playfully annoyed look as Harry merely grinned in response before he turned to look up at Lauren. 

“Yes, we’d love to know the sex.” He swore he heard Harry thank God beneath his breath and he giggled loudly, turning to face him as Lauren prepped for another ultrasound.  
“Let’s place bets. Have you been picturing a little boy or a little girl this whole time?” Harry scrunched up his nose playfully, seeming to think for a moment before his eyes lit up.

“A little girl…I’d obviously be fine with either one, but I can just imagine myself braiding our daughter’s hair.” Louis’ heart melted a bit at that and he kissed his husband’s cheek in response before laying back down on the bed. 

“I want a little boy first...that way, when we have more kids, they’ll always have a big brother to look out for them.” Harry merely stared at him for a moment, his face full of pure adoration before Louis felt Lauren press the remote back down onto his belly. 

“Alright you two...keep watching the screen…” Louis’ heart was pounding a mile a minute and he felt Harry’s hand clamp down on his own, both of them holding their breath as Lauren kept moving it around.

The picture was dim and grainy, but Louis had become sort of an expert on these things and apparently so had Harry, because they both gasped at the same time as Lauren grinned happily, stopping her remote over one spot. 

“It’s a little boy!” 

When December came around, Louis was in full director mode after school everyday. Shakespeare was one of the hardest playwrights to understand, and he had to make sure his cast and crew knew what they were doing before the show opened in January. Slowly but surely Louis found himself not walking around onstage as much, rather taking to his seat in the front row and gesturing frantically to get his point across. The students eventually got used to it, although they were accustomed to Louis walking around with them onstage and showing them what to do more often than not. But Louis’ feet were getting more and more swollen every week, and it was getting increasingly difficult to keep his balance and he figured sitting down was the best option. 

Christmas break came, and students were released early that day while the staff had to stay after a couple hours. Louis was busy waddling around his classroom, gathering up papers and cleaning up when he heard the classroom door open, Harry walking in with his arms folded behind his back and a smug smile on his lips. 

“Hello, Mr. Tomlinson. Can I just say, I’m a HUGE fan of your work.” Louis rolled his eyes with a smile and shook his head, bending down with difficulty to pick up another paper from the ground. 

“Hello Curly. Why aren’t you at home? I’ll be coming there in a few minutes anyway.” Harry shrugged a bit, bending down and picking up some trash with one hand.

“Just wanted to say hi. Plus, I wanted to peep at your set and see how much you have finished.” Louis groaned a bit, making a face as he dumped his armful of papers into the trashcan in his office. 

“You’re not missing out on much. We’re a bit behind on the building aspect; some of my tech kids are a bit slow when it comes to screwdrivers and nails.” Harry snorted a bit, walking over to him as Louis flopped down in his spinning chair, resting his hands on his tummy as he swung himself back and forth a bit with his foot, eyeing his husband carefully. “What’s behind your back?” 

Harry smiled and shrugged nonchalantly, looking around the room. 

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Louis.” Louis smirked and reached his foot over, kicking him lightly in the shin as Harry hopped out of the way, pulling out a single red rose from behind his back. 

“I went to get more vitamins for you today, and they had these in the display window. Reminded me of our first date, so I got one.” Louis grinned, reaching out and taking it, resting the stem on top of his belly as he twirled it around his fingers, glancing back up at him.

“You’re such a sap. But thank you, it’s really beautiful…” He set the flower down on his desk, looking up just in time to see Harry step forward, leaning down and immediately pressing his lips to his, taking his face in his hands. Louis’ eyes fluttered shut involuntarily, responding to the kiss as his hands found their way to Harry’s shoulders. He hummed a bit, pulling his lips away briefly as he squinted a bit at Harry. 

“What are you doing, silly? I’m at work, we can’t do anything in my office…” Harry wiggled his eyebrows mischievously, smirking slightly at him before running a thumb across his cheek. 

“Why not? There’s no kids here, your classroom is at the very end of the hallway, away from any type of civilization…” Louis snorted and shook his head, feeling Harry suddenly hook his arms beneath his legs and back, scooping him up in one swift movement from his chair. “Come on, darling...let me love on you, please…” 

And really, when Harry talked like that, there was no question in the matter. 

They ended up only making out in the auditorium for a few minutes before Louis very quickly realized things were taking a very dirty turn, and he couldn’t stop his giggles when Harry threw a fit in realizing they both needed to drive home separately because both of their cars were there. The drive home felt ten times longer than usual to Louis, his knee bouncing impatiently as he weaved in and out of traffic to get home quicker. 

Louis arrived right before Harry did, and he took this opportunity to flop down on the living room couch, managing to get his jacket and shirt off before Harry came barrelling through the door, already in the process of unbuttoning his shirt. He stumbled into the room and caught sight of a half naked Louis on the couch, groaning loudly in response. 

“You’re honestly killing me! Stop looking like that!” Louis giggled loudly, watching Harry yank his shirt over his head and all but run over to him, immediately leaning himself down over Louis and pressing his lips to his once more. 

Christmas break was off to a very good start, with the two of them finally stopping a couple hours later, in the middle of the living room floor as Louis tried desperately to catch his breath, wrapping his sweaty body in a blanket from the couch as Harry stared blankly at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling rapidly and his hair a tangled mess of knots on his head. 

“Jesus Christ, Louis…” He ran a hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes as Louis merely blinked in response, finally turning his gaze to look at his husband. 

“It’s the hormones...I know we’d had some great sex before, but that…” He grinned wearily at Harry, reaching out with one hand to touch his face. “That was something else.” 

Harry turned his head to face him, still slightly out of breath and smiled, rolling on his side to bring himself closer. 

“We gotta do that again, Lou…” Louis laughed loudly, shaking his head as Harry pulled off some of the blankets from Louis, inching himself closer so that they were both covered now. 

“You’re something else, Styles,” Louis mused, relaxing against the carpet as Harry reached over and began rubbing at his belly with one hand. 

“You know our birthing classes start next week.” Louis groaned loudly, closing his eyes. 

“Those things freak me out. You’re in a room with all these other pregnant couples making weird noises and doing weird yoga poses.” Harry giggled softly, watching him quietly as he kept his hand over a spot on the side of Louis’ belly, where their son was furiously kicking away at him. 

“Lauren said it’s very important for first time parents to go. Besides, it’ll be nice to know how to breathe when you do go into labor.” Louis grimaced, opening his eyes and turning to face him once more. 

“Yeah, I know. I just like to complain.” Harry smiled and pressed another kiss to his lips briefly before laying back down on the floor. 

“Yeah, that’s my Lou…” 

The birthing classes ended up being extremely helpful, although Louis wouldn’t admit it out loud. There was only a few more couples in the class, and they were all extremely nice and inviting. Their instructor was a bit on the weird side, and Louis came to the conclusion after three classes that she was on some sort of drugs. Her tips and yoga were very relaxing, however, and Louis came home after every class feeling more and more confident in his body. 

Louis’ and Harry’s families both flew in on Christmas Eve, Louis’ birthday, and greeted him at the airport with shrieks of joy and many hands flying to touch his bump. Louis grinned and hugged them all, mumbling words of thanks over and over as Johannah suddenly pressed a hand to his forehead, squinting a bit. 

“Louis, you’re all sweaty. Are you hot? Do you need some water?” Louis was definitely not about to tell his mother that part of his birthday celebration had been performed in the car in the airport parking lot. Harry shot him a smug look over Anne’s shoulder, Louis smiling and looking back at his mum. 

“I’m fine, I just get sweaty really easily now…” 

Christmas Eve was easily one of Louis’ favorite days of the year, and once they all arrived back to Louis and Harry’s house things were truly blissful. Anne, Gemma, Lottie and Fizzy were busy baking in the kitchen for tomorrow, Johannah sitting beside the Christmas tree with Doris and Ernest, showing them the various wrapped presents along with Daisy and Phoebe, and Robin and Dan were busy chatting away in the two armchairs.

Louis was quiet, watching everything play out in front of him and rubbing absentmindedly at his belly, looking up as Harry flopped down beside him. 

“Finally finished wrapping the rest of those bloody presents. Who knew kids toys were so hard to work with?” Louis grinned and kissed his cheek, quietly thanking him before laying his head to rest against his shoulder, yawning a bit. 

Harry reached over, gently placing his hand on the bottom part of his tummy. “24 weeks already...how’s our little future footie star doing?” Louis smiled and looked down at his hand. 

“He was kicking up a storm earlier, but I think he’s tired now. Wait, I didn’t show you!” He quickly lifted up his shirt to reveal his now protruding bellybutton, earning a soft gasp from Harry. “Must’ve just happened today.” 

Harry immediately moved his hand up, gently poking at it with his fingertip before grinning happily, looking up at his husband. 

“God, you’re such a rockstar. I still can’t believe we’re gonna have a baby later on this year.” Louis blushed and pulled his shirt back down, reaching up and brushing some hair from his eyes. 

“Better believe it. He’ll be here sooner than you think,” he mused, scrunching his nose up as Harry covered his face in tiny little kisses.

Everyone retired to bed fairly early, mostly due to the fact that the twins were adamant about needing to sleep for Santa Claus, and after Louis complained of a backache Harry had insisted they go lounge in the tub for awhile.

Louis found himself resting against his husband’s chest a little while later, surrounded by warm water and dim lighting, fighting to keep his eyes open as Harry gently ran his fingers through his hair, resting his chin on the top of his head. Louis wiggled his toes a bit in the soapy water, yawning before Harry spoke up. 

“Have you ever thought about doing one of those at home water births?” Louis made a face and shook his head, still relaxed against Harry’s body. 

“Nah, I’d rather be in a sterile hospital. Besides, that epidural is going to save my ass when it comes time to deliver.” Harry laughed softly, dropping his hands from his hair back down to rest on the sides of the tub. 

“Understandable. Hey, I never got to give you your birthday present…” Louis groaned a bit, flopping his head to the side as he felt Harry move beneath him, his arm reaching over the tub. 

“You know I hate presents, you ass. I told you I didn’t want anything this year.” Harry sighed audibly, Louis hearing the rustle of something from his side. 

“Yeah, you say that every year. Just shut up and accept my love.” Louis watched as Harry brought out a small silver gift bag, all sparkly and complete with white tissue paper, balancing it lightly on his belly. Louis smiled despite himself, lifting his hands from their resting place on top of his tummy and taking it in his hands. 

“The wrapping is impeccable, are you sure your mother didn’t do this?” Harry smacked the side of his head lightly, getting a giggle out of Louis as he began to pull out the various layers of paper. 

“No…” Louis’ face lit up and he immediately pushed himself forward, pulling out tiny newborn onesie with familiar stripes on it. “You got him a Doncaster Rovers jersey!” He heard Harry laughing softly behind him as Louis immediately brought it to his chest, holding it tightly. 

“Look at the back, love…” Louis immediately turned it around and gasped loudly, the back of the jersey reading TOMLINSON-STYLES on the back in white lettering, along with the large number 28 on it. 

“Oh my God....Harry, I love it! Thank you…” He sat up as quickly as he could and turned to face his husband, dropping the bag and onesie back onto the floor and wrapping his arms around his neck tightly as Harry giggled, kissing his head. 

“Well, it’s not much of a present for you. More for him, really.” He rubbed his back gently, and Louis felt him reaching for the floor once more. “But that’s not all of the present, Lou…” 

Louis lifted his head up and squinted at him, watching carefully as Harry brought the bag in front of him once more. 

“How many more parts to this gift are there?” he asked wearily, peering into the bag as Harry smirked. 

“Just one more, I promise.” he answered. “I wanted to watch your face for this one.” 

Louis flashed him another dark look before reaching his hand inside, pulling out a tiny velvet bag, pulled shut by some gold string. He threw the bag back down over the tub and gently slid his finger inside the opening, pulling it open before he literally screamed in shock.

“Harry Styles!” he gasped, his eyes wide as he reached inside and produced a small, simple silver ring, all shiny and new. Harry merely leaned against the back of the tub, watching him quietly as Louis sputtered loudly, trying to make words as he held the small thing in his palm. 

“You...this...how did you afford this?!” he managed out, looking at him with huge eyes as Harry shrugged. 

“None of your business, Tommo. Now let me see that…” He reached down and took the ring in his fingers, holding it in front of his eyes. 

“It’s got our names engraved in it, just in case one day you forget we’re married.” He flashed him a cheeky grin and Louis merely blinked in response, his mouth still hanging open in shock. “I know we both have wedding bands, but this past year you’ve made me so insanely happy that I just had to show you somehow. So...I decided to buy this.” He lifted Louis’ hand gently, sliding the ring onto his wedding finger to rest just above his gold wedding band. 

Louis was absolutely dumbstruck, seeming to forget how to speak as Harry looked up at him, smiling softly and meeting his eyes. 

“Happy birthday, Louis.” 

And sure, maybe Louis did start crying again. He threw his arms back around his husband and buried his face into his neck, crying and thanking him over and over again, all while gazing over his shoulder to admire his shiny new ring. 

Harry hummed happily into his skin, looking down at his belly in between them. “I think our son is wishing you a happy birthday, too,” he commented, resting his hand on top of his skin as Louis indeed felt him rolling around and kicking him from inside. 

He sniffled, wiping his eyes and nodded, laughing happily and agreeing. “I think you’re definitely right, Curly.” 

Christmas ended all too quickly for Louis’ liking; he felt like he never had enough time in the world to spend with his family, and a few days later he found himself tightly hugging his mother at the airport, sighing softly.

“I’ll see you soon enough, Mum...this baby will be making his grand entrance before you know it.” Johannah smiled and patted her son’s cheek, kissing his nose once more before stepping back.

“Oh yes, I know. Call me more often, love! Keep me updated on doctor’s appointments and all that!” Louis smiled and agreed, and soon he and Harry were both waving goodbye to everyone from the terminal. 

Louis and Harry had both promised their mums that they’d get started on the nursery as soon as possible, now they that had enough clothes and baby toys to fill the room twice. The last couple of days of Christmas break were spent furniture shopping, clinging onto his husband’s hand in the store as they argued over paint colors and crib styles, finally managing to get what they needed after several hours. 

Louis spent the last day before school started back up painting, dressed in shorts and one of Harry’s oversized sweatshirts as the room was transformed from a boring tan color to a soft, light blue one. The bedding for the crib was covered with tiny boats and ships, all correlating with the nautical theme Harry had insisted they have. 

Louis found himself sitting in the large white rocking chair later that night, sleepily watching his husband finish the last of the paint on the walls as he lazily pushed himself back and forth with his foot. 

“You’re doing amazing, love…” He grinned softly as Harry dramatically bowed to him, dropping his brush in the paint tray before backing up, examining his work, placing his hands on his hips. 

“Damn, am I good or what?” Louis laughed, watching as Harry turned and walked over to him, kneeling down in front of his chair and placing a kiss on the top of his belly. “This was all for you, little one. Better appreciate it when you come out.” Louis yawned, rubbing his eyes and Harry stood back up, reaching his hands out. “Back to work tomorrow, love…”

Louis made a face and reached out to grab his arms, hoisting himself to stand up before stretching. “Sadly, yes. But I missed my kids, plus we have a shitload of rehearsing to do before opening night in two weeks.” Harry smiled and took his hand gently, leading him down the hallway to their bedroom. 

“That’s the Louis I know and love. Thought I’d lost you under all that baby weight.” Louis scoffed loudly, following his husband and already looking forward to flopping into bed and falling asleep for the rest of the night. 

January was a surprisingly fast month as well, despite Louis feeling like he doubled in size those four weeks. Their production of Julius Caesar was a success, and things had already started moving towards their final production of the year, Grease , that was due to open at the beginning of April, just a couple weeks before his due date. He knew that his maternity leave was gonna catch up with him sooner than he realized, and he frantically began the process of auditions and casting as soon as he could. 

Harry was busy at work, seeming to be on the phone with the record label as well as Zayn and Liam every night. Their album was set to release on February 1st, Harry’s birthday, and Zayn and Liam had insisted they host an album release party at their house that evening. 

“You know, you’re nearly 30 weeks pregnant now, Louis…” Harry’s voice rang from inside the closet as Louis was brushing his teeth in their bathroom that night. “...you really don’t have to come to this party if you don’t want to.” 

Louis spit out his toothpaste into the sink, rinsing out his mouth thoroughly before waddling back into the bedroom, reaching for his clothes that had already been picked out for weeks.

“Harry Styles, I am not going to let you go to this thing on your own, especially on your birthday.” He began getting undressed, sliding on a pair of black dress pants and somehow managing to button them at his waist. “I’m fine, I swear! I’ve just been a bit tired, is all. That’s normal…” 

Harry stepped out of the closet, busily buttoning up the bottom of his dress shirt before looking back up at Louis, still looking weary. 

“If you say so, love…” He walked over and helped Louis slide his shirt on over his shoulders, patiently buttoning it up as Louis messed with his sleeves, rolling them up a bit before meeting Harry’s eyes. 

“Hey…” he mused, reaching up and taking his face in his hands, smiling softly. “Don’t worry about me. This is your night, remember that.” 

Harry seemed to relax at that, his shoulders dropping slightly as the tension left his body.

“You’re right, you’re right…” He fixed Louis’ collar gently before dropping his hands, smiling at him. “You look absolutely stunning, darling.” 

Louis felt his cheeks heat up at that and he grinned, scanning Harry up and down briefly.

“Not as good as you. There’s no way I could rock floral print like that.” Harry snorted loudly and shrugged, taking his husband’s hand as they walked out. 

The party ended up being amazing, as Louis had kept reminding Harry it would be. Louis wasn’t too familiar with Zayn and Liam, but as soon as they started talking Louis understood why Harry loved working with them. They were young and still dating, but Louis could tell that they’d be married soon enough. Liam was always glancing over his shoulder to check on Zayn, no matter where he was at and Louis honestly wondered how Liam failed to notice the way Zayn always lovingly stared at him, watching his lips when he spoke. They made sure Louis was getting everything he needed, insisting a few times that he’d sit but of course Louis politely denied. After a couple hours Zayn shyly asked if he could touch his tummy and Louis nearly laughed at him, assuring him that he really didn’t have to ask because so many people were grabbing his belly anyway. 

They ended up leaving the party a bit early because Louis’ back and feet were aching something awful and Zayn and Liam both insisted he go home and rest. 

“Come back and visit sometime, you two!” Liam called out from the doorway as Harry and Louis made their way to the car. Zayn merely smiled shyly and nodded in agreement, holding onto his boyfriend’s waist as Harry waved back. 

“Will do, Liam! See you two later!” 

Louis insisted over and over again that night that he didn’t want a bath, just wanted to lay in bed and fall asleep before work the next morning and Harry glumly agreed, the two of them getting undressed and crawling into bed.

“Fucking hell, can’t believe I have 10 more weeks of this,” Louis groaned, laying on his back and rubbing his eyes as Harry slid in beside him. 

“10 more weeks until our son arrives,” Harry lamented, and Louis smiled happily at him before pointing to the bedside table. 

“Can you reach into the top drawer for me? I think I left a bottle of water in there.” Harry nodded and leaned forward, reaching over and opening it before stopping, blinking at it. Louis fought back another large grin as Harry pulled out a small, red box from it, sitting up immediately and looking at Louis. 

“What’s this?” he inquired, shaking the thing in front of Louis’ face and Louis remained nonchalant. 

“Oh that? It’s your birthday present…” He waved his hand at him and leaned back against the pillows as Harry kept staring at it, shifting it around in his fingers. “I mean, I guess you can open it,” he joked playfully, giggling as Harry pulled the top off quickly before letting out a strangled cry. 

“Louis!” he shrieked, lifting up a silver charm bracelet from inside as Louis smiled. 

“Happy birthday, Harry.” 

He watched his husband drop the box in his lap and pull the jewelry closer to his face, examining all of the tiny charms that dangled from the chain. 

“There’s a heart...and a music note, and a piano...aw, our wedding anniversary is engraved on the heart!” he squealed, Louis giggling louder and pointing to another one. 

“Don’t forget that one…” Harry squinted a bit, gazing at it and his face grew soft, his mouth falling open slightly. 

“A little baby carriage…” He turned to face Louis and grinned fondly, turning back over and immediately covering his face with tiny kisses. “I love it, I love it, I love it! Thank you, baby…” 

Louis laughed loudly, squirming beneath his frame and hitting his arms before Harry sat back up, grinning at him from below. 

“Anything for you, my love.” 

By the time Valentine’s Day came around two weeks later, Louis was 32 weeks along and it was getting increasingly harder for him to walk around anymore. School and rehearsals were starting to take their toll on him, and he was really looking forward to that maternity leave at the end of February. Harry assured him that nothing special was needed on Valentine’s Day that night, but when Louis came home that night to a dozen red roses in his bedroom, he merely smirked and threw the box of chocolates he had bought for Harry right at his chest. 

Louis should’ve known trying to put together a musical at the end of the year was something a normal director often struggled with, let alone a largely pregnant one. At the end of February, though, Louis was feeling pretty confident with his students and assured them the day he left that he’d be crashing some rehearsals during the week. 

“You can’t get rid of me forever, I’ll be back once I get some sleep.” He smiled and they all bid him goodbye, rubbing on his very large, 34 weeks pregnant belly before he went home. 

When Harry got home that night, he found Louis fast asleep on the couch amidst the piles of baby clothes he had been busily folding beforehand. It wasn’t his fault; these days, he was tired after getting up and walking downstairs for breakfast in the morning. Harry had scooped him up and put him to bed where he’d slept in until 2 in the afternoon the next day, waking up to Harry frantically jumping on the bed beside him. 

“Louis, wake up! Right now!” Louis felt him shake his shoulder a little bit, grunting at him before opening his eyes a crack, squinting in the bright sunlight. 

“What is it, Harry…” he yawned, blinking back sleepy tears as Harry held out his phone in front of his face. 

“Do you hear what’s playing on the radio?!” he asked, waving the thing wildly in front of Louis as he yawned again, scratching his cheek and listening before waking up a bit. 

“Harry...oh my God, that’s your song! Zayn and Liam are singing your song on the radio!” Harry nodded excitedly and began bouncing on his knees on the bed again, turning the volume up higher as he helped Louis sit up against the pillows. 

“Damn right it is! I was doing laundry downstairs and suddenly they announced they were gonna play a new song and IT WAS MINE!” Louis grinned happily, reaching forward and pulling him into a hug. 

“Congratulations, baby...I’m so proud of you!” Harry hugged him back tightly, kissing his temple gently before pulling back, smiling happily at him. 

“Couldn’t have written it without my inspiration.” He poked Louis’ nose gently and Louis giggled, wrinkling his nose in response. 

“If you say so…” 

(The song was number one on the charts for months, and Louis really couldn’t think of a better love ballad to be famous than that one.)

Louis found himself in full on nesting mode in the weeks that followed, constantly folding and refolding baby clothes and wandering into the nursery all the time now that he didn’t have school to distract him. He was having a harder time walking now, seeming to waddle all of the time and Lauren informed them that it was due to the baby dropping lower and lower into his pelvis. 

“You’ll feel like this for just a few more weeks...this is really the start of the homestretch. Once he’s fully dropped, labor will start and then he’ll be on his way!” Louis wouldn’t admit it but her words were starting to scare him a bit. He and Harry had obviously taken the time to talk things through, pack a bag and do all of the things their parenting books said, but Louis found himself getting more and more nervous the closer his due date came. 

One particular night during their birthing class (their last one, ironically), one of the other couples literally went into labor during one of their routine stretches. The entire thing was a bit startling, and it didn’t help matters much that the woman was a screamer, frantically trying to breathe while her husband looked helplessly on, the rest of the class in a sort of silent panic, watching her suffer as the paramedics were called. 

Louis didn’t speak the entire ride home, chewing absentmindedly on his thumbnail and looking out the car window, slumped down a bit in the passenger seat. He could sense Harry casting quick glances at him every couple of minutes, refusing to acknowledge him, drumming his other fingertips along his very pregnant, very swollen 36 week belly.  
They finally pulled into the driveway, Harry turning the car off and looking over wearily as Louis slowly unbuckled his seatbelt, pulling it back to hit the car door gently. He fumbled idly with the door handle, knowing that even if he opened it he wouldn’t be able to stand up without help and letting out a soft sigh. 

Harry unbuckled his own belt and turned to face Louis directly, keeping his hands in his lap and watching him quietly. “You’re so close, Louis...it’s almost over…” 

Louis rubbed his eyes with his palms, remaining silent as Harry pressed forward. 

“I know that I don’t understand what it feels like...but I’ve seen you deal with it all this time. Barely able to walk, yet still insisting I take you to rehearsals twice a week. Watching you rub at your swollen feet every night without a complaint. Hearing you get up to pee 7 times a night, and feeling you toss and turn because you can’t get comfortable.” Louis dropped his hands and turned to met his gaze, eyeing him warily. 

“What’s your point, Harry?” he asked softly, watching his husband shoot him another sympathetic look before reaching out and stroking his hair. 

“This is all going to pay off soon, Louis. You’re almost there, just a few more weeks...and I know that I sound like a hypocrite because I don’t get it, but I’m so fucking serious when I say that you’re a rockstar, love.” Louis cracked a faint smile at that, closing his eyes for a moment as his husband leaned forward and kissed his forehead gently. 

“Thank you, Harry…” he murmured, watching as Harry sat back up and flashed him a grin. 

“That’s what I’m here for. And I PROMISE you that I’m gonna be right there beside you in the delivery room. Everything’s going to be just fine…” Louis nodded slowly, relaxing back into his seat as Harry got out of the car, rushing to the other side to open his door and helped him out gently, wrapping an arm around his waist. 

Opening night for Grease came around 2 weeks later, and the night before was spent at the doctor’s office once more. Lauren had assured them that everything was perfectly normal, and that they’d be smart to spend this time resting and preparing for what was going to happen in the next couple of weeks. 

Louis was absolutely helpless at walking without Harry now, having to hold onto his hand or arm wherever they went due to his small frame. Lauren was pleasantly surprised he had stayed pregnant even this long, having assumed their baby would be slightly premature. Louis, being as stubborn as he was, had insisted on accompanying Harry to the grocery store that night, wandering up and down the aisles clutching his arm as Harry kept shooting him concerned looks. 

“Louis, come on. You should be at home, getting rest…” Louis rolled his eyes, reaching over and grabbing a box of Coco Puffs before tossing it in the cart. 

“So should you, but here you are. Lauren said that walking around was good for me, anyway,” he pointed out, earning a sour look from Harry as he kept pushing the cart. 

That night, Louis’ back was absolutely killing him but he didn’t say a word, not wanting Harry to lecture him for half an hour. They ate dinner (Louis wasn’t all that hungry and Harry kept frowning at him the whole night) before finally curling up in bed together. 

“Opening night tomorrow, Lou…” Harry yawned beside him, reaching to turn out the light as Louis rubbed his eyes sleepily. “Isn’t it a bit odd to open a show on April Fools Day?” 

Louis shrugged a bit, relaxing against his propped up mountain of pillows and praying to the gods that he’d get some rest tonight. “Eh, probably. But I don’t care, it’s going to be phenomenal anyway.” He felt a soft kiss on his cheek before his husband rolled over, his words already slurry with sleep. 

“I can’t wait to see it…” he managed to get out before a soft snoring began to fill the room. Louis sighed a bit, shifting around in bed before resting his arms on top of his belly, closing his eyes and hoping for the best. 

Surprisingly, Louis only woke up twice and managed to get a decent night’s sleep. The baby’s constant movement had woken him up twice, seeming to think it funny to push on his father’s bladder and sending Louis straight to the bathroom to pee. He woke up to sunlight shining in his eyes the next morning, peering over at his side to see Harry already half awake, squinting his eyes as he texted on his phone being held above his head. 

“Who are you talking to, love?” he yawned out, rubbing his eyes sleepily as Harry finished up, setting his phone down and rolling onto his side, snaking his arms around Louis’ frame. 

“Just my mum. She wanted to check in on you, make sure you were doing alright…” Louis smiled faintly, running his fingers through his husband’s curls.

“”M doing just fine, thank you very much...feeling a bit fat, is all.” Harry smirked, releasing his arms and backing up a bit to lower his hand onto Louis’ belly. 

“And how’re you holding up, little one? Ready to come out yet?” Louis giggled softly as Harry’s hand was met with a swift kick, Harry making a face. “Got such an attitude problem already, don’t you?” Louis leaned his head back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling as Harry kept massaging his skin. 

“We haven’t decided on a name, you know…” Louis mused, scratching his head a bit as Harry pressed a kiss to his bellybutton, looking up briefly. 

“I know. I just haven’t found one I really love yet, you know?” Louis nodded in agreement, recalling the past few nights they’d spent poring over baby name encyclopedias and scrolling through the Internet in hopes that one would jump out at them. 

“Eh, you’re right. I mean, I suppose we’ve got a bit more time anyway...maybe when we look at him we’ll know exactly what to name him.” Harry smiled happily, winking at him playfully as Louis blushed a bit. 

“That’s the spirit, love.” 

That entire day, Louis had been feeling a bit...off. From the moment he got out of bed, his back was succumbed to an ever present dull, throbbing pain. He figured it was due to the fact that he’d slept weirdly the night before, and didn’t feel like complaining about it to Harry. He was sleepy the entire day, spending majority of his time lounging on the couch as Harry cleaned around the house, keeping himself busy and allowing Louis to rest while he could. 

By the time evening rolled around, Louis secretly wanted nothing more than to stay curled up in his blanket on the couch, stirring from his light slumber as Harry crept quietly into the living room, already dressed and holding Louis’ clothes in his arms. 

“It’s almost time to go, love…” Louis grunted a bit, burying his face into the cushion for a moment before slowly moving off his blanket, pushing himself to sit up. 

“Right…” he murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Harry knelt down in front of him, gently pulling off his sweatpants from his legs. 

Louis was embarrassed at first about needing help getting dressed, but at this point in his pregnancy he couldn’t have cared less at all. He watched sleepily as Harry pulled his pants up, buttoning them at the waist before standing up, pulling off his shirt over his head. Louis looked up at him tiredly, flashing a soft smile as Harry finished pulling it on, beginning to button it from the collar down. 

“I really love you, Harry…” he mumbled, watching as Harry’s cheeks turned a light pink color. 

“Are you sure that’s not the lack of sleep talking?” he asked, finishing up the last of the buttons beneath his belly before letting out a low whistle. “No offense, darling…but you’re pretty fucking huge.” Louis shrugged a bit in agreement, holding onto Harry’s shoulders to hoist himself up. 

“Yeah, I know. I still look damn good in dress clothes, though.” Harry grinned and agreed with him, pressing a kiss to his temple before hooking an arm around his waist and guiding him outside towards the car. 

“You’re absolutely right, love. That’s the reason I married you.” Louis giggled softly, swatting him playfully on the arm as they shut the door behind them. 

Louis should’ve realized during the car ride to the high school that things weren’t quite right. There was a weird sort of feeling in his lower stomach, a kind of pressure that he hadn’t really noticed before. He brushed it off and maintained a happy smile on his face, indulging in Harry’s loud conversations and questions about the show the entire way there. The feeling didn’t stop when he got out of the car; truthfully, it felt a bit worse and Louis should’ve said something then, but of course he could handle it. It was just a little pain, is all. 

By the time Louis finished his little speech backstage (while all of the kids rubbed his belly for good luck before getting into places) and he and Harry had been seated in the last row of the auditorium, the pains in his back were awful now, worse than he’d ever felt before and it took all his might to remain calm, barely hearing Harry ramble about how excited he was. 

“Honestly Louis, the costuming backstage looked phenomenal. And the set, Jesus Christ. You amaze me with every damn show.” Louis merely smiled and nodded along, clutching tightly onto his now crumpled up program in one hand and gripping the arm of his chair in the other. 

Of course Harry was clueless, and as soon as the lights dimmed Louis knew this was going to be an insanely long night. He watched silently as the curtains opened, still keeping a death grip on his chair as the first song begin, watching his students begin their singing and choreography. Harry was pleasantly surprised, humming along to the song with a huge grin on his face as the audience in front of them noticeably perked up, and normally Louis would be ecstatic with his kids had he not suddenly felt the pressure in his belly suddenly stop. 

It was very strange; within a few seconds the pain suddenly ceased, and then the next he let out an audible gasp as something warm began trickling down his pant leg. 

“Oh, my God…” he managed to get out, blinking rapidly in shock as Harry waved his hand towards him absentmindedly. 

“Yes, she was a bit off-key when she started singing,” he whispered quietly, his eyes still glued to the stage as Louis struggled to make words. “But look, she’s fine now! Phenomenal singer, that one. Perfect casting for Sandy.” 

Louis shook his head rapidly, his breathing already speeding up as he realized what was happening. “Harry, no...listen to me...I think my water just broke.” 

If Harry had turned his head any faster Louis figured he would’ve broken his neck, sitting up immediately and staring him down with furrowed brows. “Wait...are you serious? Like, right now?” 

Louis nodded frantically, watching as Harry turned his head down to the floor and blanched a bit. 

“Oh...oh my God!” he hissed, earning him a few shushes from some people a couple rows ahead. Louis was just about in full on panic mode now, listening as the song ended and a roar of cheers and applause erupted in the room around them. Harry glanced up at the stage, then immediately got up and helped Louis stand quickly, getting them out the back auditorium doors right as the clapping was ending. 

Louis finally let out a loud gasp as soon as the door shut, his chest rising and falling with pure terror as Harry bounced wildly around him, looking around the empty hallway as if someone was going to tell them what to do. 

“Oh Jesus...Louis, you’re going into labor! This is happening, right now!” Louis opened his mouth for a smart comment back but then suddenly he was doubled over in pain, letting out a strangled sort of moaning noise. Harry immediately ran over, grabbing ahold of his shoulders and pulling him close, Louis muffling the noise by burying his face into Harry’s shirt. 

“Louis, listen to me. Just breathe, okay? In and out, just like we’ve been practicing...remember all of our classes…” There was an edge of fear in his voice but Louis could barely hear him, wrapping his arms tightly around his belly as a terrible, aching feeling began to seize it up. 

In all honestly, it was probably the worst pain he’d ever felt in his life. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the pain finally began to cease, and a few moments later Louis was gasping for air, staring blankly at the floor beneath him, his arms still wrapped about his tummy as Harry knelt down beside him. 

“Are you okay?” he murmured, brushing Louis’ sweaty fringe from his forehead and looking extremely helpless as Louis managed a small nod, lifting his head up wearily. 

“Y-yes, I think so…” He let out a low breath, refusing to break eye contact as Harry gently grabbed ahold of his hands, pulling them from his belly. 

“This is happening, Louis. It’s finally time.” And really, those words should’ve been what set Louis into full on panic mode. But as Harry gave him a warm smile, staring at him with those huge green eyes and determined look, Louis felt quite the opposite of panicked. The dull ache in his abdomen was momentarily forgotten as Harry ran his thumbs along his knuckles gently, as Louis swallowed thickly and nodded slowly. 

“We’re going to meet our son soon.” 

As they stumbled their way out to the parking lot, Harry gripping tightly onto Louis’ waist as they did, everything began to set in. He caught sight of their already packed labor bag in the backseat as Harry buckled him inside, running to his side of the car before starting it up and speeding out of the parking lot. Louis slowly but surely began to relax in the passenger seat, focusing on the way his chest rose and fell rhythmically as he kept a hand balanced on top of his tummy. 

“Way to be dramatic, eh little one?” he teased lightly, looking down at his bump as Harry peered over at him. “Decide to make your grand appearance on opening night, such a diva.” Louis smiled to himself when he saw Harry crack a grin out of the corner of his eye, visibly relaxing in his seat. He remained quiet for a few minutes as Harry sped down the highway, then sucked in a loud breath and gritted his teeth once more. 

“Oh, God...there’s another one…” he stammered out, pushing himself to sit up and bend forward, as if it would alleviate the pain a bit but of course it didn’t. Harry reached out and grabbed ahold of his hand, squeezing it tightly as he made the exit for the hospital. 

“Come on Louis, just breathe for me baby...that’s it, in and out…” The pain was noticeably worse this time and Louis wondered idly how bad things were actually going to get as he reached the peak of this one, throwing his head back in anguish and digging his fingernails into Harry’s skin. 

“We’re almost there, I promise…” Harry may or may not have run a red light, Louis’ head was spinning so badly that he could barely open his eyes. The pain finally began to diminish as they reached the parking lot, Louis dropping his head back down and releasing his death grip on his husband, trying to catch his breath. 

Harry parked and turned off the car, glancing nervously at him as Louis swallowed thickly, meeting his gazed with pained eyes. “At least you won’t be having our baby in the car…” 

Louis let out a soft laugh, nodding in agreement and wiping his face with shaky hands, appreciating his husband’s sense of humor during a time like this. 

“You’re right, Curly…” Harry flashed him a soft grin and got out of the car, grabbing their bag from the backseat before going to Louis’ side and helping him out, the two of them making their way inside the hospital doors. 

The nurses caught one sight of Louis and immediately ran for a wheelchair, Harry helping him sit down before running to the counter, asking a bit frantically if Lauren was on call tonight. Louis focused on his breathing again, closing his eyes and counting to himself as the nurses began taking his vitals, giving him a couple of IV’s and taking him to another room. 

Thankfully, Lauren was just coming out of another delivery and caught sight of him down the hallway, her eyes widening and running over immediately. 

“Louis! Good lord, that was quick! I only saw you last night,” she said, looking up as Harry stumbled into the room and sighed in relief. 

“Oh thank God…” he said, walking to her side and watching as the staff quickly but gently undressed Louis and got him into a hospital gown. “We were at his school’s play and his water broke, then contractions started right after. They’ve been getting worse, and I timed them on my phone…” 

Louis cracked a weak smile, watching from his position in bed as Harry showed Lauren his phone, giving her a rundown of everything that had happened. He’d had no idea that Harry had been paying that much attention, let alone timing everything. Harry looked up and flashed him a sweet smile, Louis’ heart absolutely melting for a moment before Lauren walked over. 

“Have you been having contractions all day?” she asked, taking her stethoscope off from around her neck and guiding Louis to sit up, lifting up his gown off his back and pressing the cold metal to his skin. 

Louis blinked a bit, pursing his lips. “Well, my back was hurting really bad all day...and I had a weird feeling in the lower part of my belly all day but...I was okay. Didn’t think it was that bad.” Lauren raised an eyebrow at him, standing back up and laying him back down before pulling up his gown over his tummy. 

“You should’ve come in, Louis. Those were most definitely contractions, I’d say you’ve been in labor since this morning.” She pressed the metal against his stomach gently as Louis glanced over at Harry, his husband giving him a look of pure disbelief, his eyes wide and mouth open slightly. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he pressed, dropping their bag on the floor by his bed as Louis shrugged sheepishly. 

“I was fine, really. I’m apt to handle a little pain…” He saw Lauren try and fail to hide a smirk as she stood back up, Harry huffing in slight annoyance as he rubbed at his eyes. 

“Heartbeat sounds good, now let me see how far dilated you are.” She began to prop his legs up gently, nodding her head towards a chair at the edge of the room. “Make yourself comfortable, Harry. Gonna be a long night.” Harry pulled over a small, rolling chair to Louis’ side, leaning against the bars on the side as Louis watched him carefully. 

“I can’t believe you,” he mused, shaking his head and Louis chewed on his bottom lip. 

“I know, I’m sorry…” He reached out for Harry’s hand, sliding his fingers in between his and watched Harry’s face grow soft, flashing him a weary look but grinning softly nonetheless. 

“Like I said before; you’re a rockstar.” Louis smiled and squeezed his hand, looking up as Lauren stood back up from her spot at the end of the bed. 

“Well, I’ve got good news and...not so good news.” She pulled off her white latex gloves quickly as the nurses pushed Louis’ legs back down gently. “Good news: you’re already 7 centimeters dilated, which means you’ve gotten through phases 1 and 2 of labor already and you’ll be ready to start pushing very soon.” Louis’ heart jumped somewhere into his throat at that, blinking rapidly as Harry tilted his head to the side. 

“What’s the not so good news?” he pressed, Lauren grimacing slightly and looking in Louis’ direction. 

“Unfortunately, an epidural needed to be administered earlier on, and you won’t have enough time for it to work now. So that means...you’ll be having this baby with no painkillers.” For a moment, Louis just stared at her blankly, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do when another contraction hit him out of nowhere, immediately gasping out loud and grabbing onto his bed railings at Lauren frowned. 

“Get me a fetal monitor,” she snapped at one of the nurses, Harry pulling himself closer to the bed. 

“It’s alright, baby, just focus on my voice...in and out, in and out, that’s right…” Louis faintly heard him unzip their bag at his feet, feeling something soft being pushed into his chest. 

“We brought our blanket, remember? The one from our bedroom, it’ll calm you down…” Louis managed to open his eyes slowly, still biting his lip in pain and probably drawing blood. He gently released his grip on one bar before reaching out and gripping the blanket tightly, pulling it close to his face before letting out a loud groan, muffling the noise. Harry kept speaking into his ear, rubbing his upper arm gently as the pain kept up. Louis was sure he was crying now, his cheeks wet and hot and finally the pain ceased, leaving him exhausted and aching all over his body as he fell back against the pillows, breathing in the scent of the blanket as he struggled to breathe once more. 

He caught sight of Lauren shaking her head as he opened his eyes, blinking back tears as Harry gingerly wiped sweat from his forehead with a washcloth, looking pained and helpless but remaining silent. 

“This baby’s coming now, he’s dilated some more within minutes…” She glanced up at Louis and gave him her best attempt at a warm smile, which she failed miserably at. “Alright Louis, it’s time for the delivery room…” 

Louis’ heart dropped at her words, a cold sense of panic sweeping over him in one swift moment. “N-no...I’m not ready yet, I c-can’t, please…” He sounded pathetic, whimpering and stuttering through tears as Lauren gave him another sad look, the nurses already preparing to move his bed. 

“Louis, darling, we have to go now. Your son is ready to come out, and I know this didn’t happen like you planned it to but we have to start pushing soon…” Harry was still quiet, looking around the room quickly before shaking his head, standing up and looking directly at Lauren.

“Can we have, like, 2 minutes alone? Just me and him?” he asked quietly, Louis clinging tightly onto his blanket and shutting his eyes, willing himself to stop crying. 

Lauren eyed him wearily, glancing at her watch before sighing softly. “2 minutes, that’s all I can give you. Then we’re going straight down the hall to delivery.” Harry muttered a thank you, Louis listening as the door opened, the scuffling of shoes as they left and the door closing shut behind them, leaving an eerie silence of beeping machines. 

He opened his eyes slowly, feeling Harry move to sit down at the edge of his bed, facing him directly. Louis sniffled again, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and moved the blanket down slowly before swallowing thickly. 

“I can’t do this, Harry…” he choked out, biting his lip as Harry leaned forward, brushing his sweaty hair from his eyes. 

“Yes you can, Louis. I promise you that you can.” Louis fell silent, looking over and watching as Harry leaned down and pulled something else from the bag. “See these?” he mused, holding up a wide array of blurry ultrasound pictures, all taken from their fridge at home. “This is the reason you have to keep going. Our son wants to meet you so bad, Lou...he’s so ready to meet you, and we’re nearly there.” Louis sniffled again, reaching out and taking a picture from his hand before looking back up at his husband. 

“What if I’m not strong enough? What if I can’t get him out?” he asked shakily, a fresh set of tears rolling down his cheeks as Harry reached forward and wiped them away with his thumb. 

“You are, Louis. Hell, you were in labor this entire day and didn’t say a word about it. If that’s not strength, I don’t know what is.” Louis had to laugh at that, cracking a smile and sniffling as Harry beamed, putting the pictures back before taking his hands. 

“I’m gonna be right there the entire time. And you have the freedom to hold onto me as tightly as you can, or scream obscenities at me or do whatever you’d like.” Louis gave another watery laugh, his hands feeling a bit clammy in Harry’s warm ones as he nodded slowly. 

“Sounds like a plan, then,” he murmured, closing his eyes as Harry gave him a soft kiss, the door opening again behind him. 

“Time’s up, we’ve gotta go meet your son!” Lauren’s loud but soothing voice rang out from the doorway, Harry standing up and releasing his hands. 

“I’ll be right there, darling. Have to go change!” Louis nodded but Harry probably didn’t see him, his bed already moving out and down the hallway to the delivery room, closing his eyes for a moment and zoning out.

This was it, he thought to himself. The day they’d been waiting for since last summer. He kept his eyes closed, inhaling the familiar scent of home from his blanket that was still resting on his chest as he heard doors open, felt his bed being moved around before opening them again, squinting at the bright lighting above him. 

He lifted his head slightly and peered down over his massive belly, watching a nurse pull Lauren’s bright red hair up into a bun on her head as she held her gloved hands at her sides, glancing up at Louis and meeting his eyes with a wink. 

“Hang in there, Louis.” He managed a small smile and nodded at her, laying his head back down before the door opened once more and he heard heavy footsteps approach the side of his bed. 

“All I have to wear is a scrub shirt, thank God.” Harry sat himself back down in his chair next to Louis’ face, adjusting his sleeves as Louis smiled over at him.

“That’s too bad; I really wanted to see you in one of those hair caps,” he teased, watching Harry roll his eyes playfully before adjusting the blanket on his chest. 

“In your dreams, darling.” He planted a soft kiss on Louis’ nose and slipped his hand over the bar, grabbing ahold of his hand tightly and squeezing it. “Ready to have our baby?” 

Louis felt his bed being pushed up so he was halfway sitting, felt his legs being propped up once more and felt the beginnings of another contraction to start as he nodded confidently, squeezing his husband’s hand back just as tight. 

The next half hour of Louis’ life would be lightly described as the absolute worst pain he’d ever felt before. The pain was getting worse and worse with each passing moment, and soon he only had a couple minutes in between each contraction to catch his breath. 

Harry kept talking the entire time, bless him. His one hand kept a firm grip on Louis’ while he wiped at Louis’ forehead with the other, covering the side of his face with tiny kisses during each break. 

“You’re doing amazing, darling, just amazing…” he murmured, and Louis was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on his voice, his head spinning wilding and waves of nausea hitting him more and more often. 

Finally, Lauren stood up quickly, her eyes wide and looking excited. “Okay Louis, it’s time! You’re gonna start pushing on this next contraction, alright?” 

Louis somehow managed to nod at her, his cheeks slick with a mixture of sweat and tears and he took a loud, shaky gasp of air as Harry ran his fingers through his damp hair. 

“This is it, Lou...you’re right there, just a few more minutes!” Louis whimpered a bit, gritting his teeth and breathing in and out of his nose rapidly as another wave of pain began to start.

Lauren had a grip on both of his ankles, sitting back down and calling out to him loudly. “Alright, give me a big, long push!” And really, Louis half expected himself to blackout in that moment because of all the strength he gave. 

He leaned forward immediately, pushing his chin to his chest and scrunching his face up in pain, crying out loudly and he could feel Harry bouncing with excitement beside him. 

“That’s it, baby! Keep going, keep going!” He pushed for a few more seconds before flopping down against the pillows with a loud thud, gasping loudly for air as Lauren patted his leg.

“That was perfect, Louis, just a few more of those and he’ll be out!” A few more? Louis thought wildly to himself, feeling his heart beating rapidly against his ribcage. He could barely handle the one. 

Harry wiped his face once more as Lauren instructed one of her nurses to place an oxygen mask over his mouth, urging him to take deep, slow breaths. Louis did so, blinking through sweat and tears while keeping his eyes locked on his husband’s face. 

Harry was merely smiling at him, gently stroking his hair during this brief break as Louis slowly gained control of his breathing again. 

“Our son will be here in just a few minutes...keep thinking about that, love…” he murmured, kissing his forehead gently as Louis gave him a faint smile, too tired to say anything else. 

As Louis grew more and more tired with every push he gave, something started to feel different. It wasn’t until he heard Lauren shriek excitedly and saw her face pop up once more that he realized what was happening. 

“Louis, I can see his head! He’s got beautiful, full dark hair…” Louis briefly saw Harry stand up and peer over for a moment, gasping in shock before sitting back down and looking at him with wide eyes. 

“He’s right there, I saw him!” The amount of glee and pure joy in his voice sent Louis’ heart racing even more, and he felt Harry’s grip on his hand tighten. 

“Just one more big push, and I can pull him out!” He vaguely heard Lauren’s voice over the buzzing in his ears, feeling his blood pumping furiously in them. He suddenly felt Harry’s soft breath on his neck, whispering quietly into his ear. 

“I’m so in love with you, Louis Tomlinson,” he murmured, his forehead resting gently against the side of his face as Louis swallowed again, feeling the beginnings of another contraction start. “You’re the strongest person I know...we just need one more big push, and then it’s all over…” Blame it on an adrenaline rush, or the fact that his heart had just about burst in his chest at his husband’s words but then suddenly he was pushing again, his chin pressed hard against the middle of his chest and his face turning a bright red color from the strain. He heard Harry cheering him on, moving their hands up and down rapidly to keep a steady rhythm as Louis let out a loud, anguished scream. 

And then, suddenly, he was there. 

Louis heard the crying first before the pain suddenly ceased, felt him being pulled out and then heard Harry’s audible gasp from beside him. Struggling to keep himself sitting up, he opened his eyes slowly and blinked past the sweat, his upper body shaking slightly as he caught sight of his son for the first time. 

He was the perfect size, crying loudly in Lauren’s arms as she held him up, his head covered with dark hair. His skin was a slight pink color, despite the fact that he was covered in blood and God knows what else. For a moment, Louis felt time stop. All he could see was that baby, his and Harry’s baby...his and Harry’s son. 

Lauren was beaming, looking over at Harry. “Do you want to cut the cord?” Harry blinked for a moment, looking absolutely dumbstruck then quickly nodded, his mouth still hanging open the entire time as Lauren handed him a pair of metal scissors, showing him where to cut and grinning when he did so. 

“Perfect, Harry…” Louis was still in shock, his eyes glued to the baby as he felt a nurse place a cloth on his chest, allowing Lauren to walk over and lay him down gently on it. 

“Oh, my God…” was all Louis could manage out, reaching out immediately to hold him against him. His son’s crying began to cease, his little chest still rising and falling as he used his lungs out for the first time. His eyes were still squeezed shut, squirming a bit and Louis isn’t sure what set him off exactly, but then suddenly he was crying. 

Harry was too, standing up and reaching over to touch him as well, sniffling as he ran a thumb over the top of his head. 

“He’s so beautiful, I can’t believe how beautiful he is…” Louis kept crying harder, nodding in agreement with his husband and failing to keep the huge smile off his face, reaching down and touching his son’s wrinkly little hand for the first time. 

“We finally meet, little one…” 

They had to take him away to get him cleaned up, and Louis watched them leave as the rest of the team got to work on him, finishing up the delivery process. Harry was seated back in his chair, wiping his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt as Louis ran a shaky hand across his face, closing his eyes and taking a couple deep breaths. 

When he opened them back up he suddenly saw Harry diving towards him, taking his face gently in his hands and kissing him deeply, pulling away after a few seconds and running a thumb across his cheek, smiling happily. 

“You did it, Louis.” he said simply, and Louis felt tears well up in his eyes immediately as he nodded, starting to cry all over again as Harry leaned forward and pulled him into his arms, rubbing his back gently and kissing his hair. 

Louis cried with relief, cried with joy and cried just because he needed to cry, he supposed. The chaos of the night was finally over...his son was here. 

Harry was right; he’d definitely been worth it. 

When they’d finally finished up with Louis, he found himself back in his original room an hour later, struggling to keep his eyes open as he was given painkillers through his IV. Harry had wrapped him up in their blanket from home, making sure he was comfortable before taking a seat on the edge of his bed, letting Louis rest his head in his lap while he stroked his hair gently. 

For a little while, Louis enjoyed the calm silence. He was still reeling from the events that had happened earlier, but as the medication kicked in he felt himself finally begin to calm down and relax again, listening to Harry breathe above him. 

It was all very surreal, and frankly Louis didn’t quite know what to say. 

Harry finally broke the silence after awhile, lifting his hand from Louis’ hair. “We’re parents now.” 

Louis contemplated this for a moment, staying mute with his head resting on Harry’s thigh. He was right, of course. They finally had a son, half of Louis and half of Harry, who was in a room down the hallway being cleaned up and measured and taken care of. 

He slowly began to push himself to sit up, smiling gratefully to Harry as he helped before he laid down against his mountain of pillows, making eye contact with his husband. 

“That’s right, we are.” He smiled weakly at Harry, reaching out for his hand. “I still can’t believe that just happened.” 

Harry huffed loudly, taking his hand and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Neither can I. One minute you were pushing, and the next he was right there on your chest.” He shook his head, leaning down against the railing. “I don’t think I could’ve done that.” 

Louis smiled and rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes you could, you’ve got a bigger frame. It’d be a piece of cake for you.” Harry grinned happily at him, leaning down and giving him another gentle kiss on the lips, murmuring against his mouth. 

“We’ll see about that someday…” Louis’ eyes fluttered shut for a moment, opening again a few seconds later when he heard the door open from beside him, looking up and seeing Lauren pushing in a small baby bed, a huge grin on her face. 

“Your son is just about the healthiest little boy I’ve ever seen,” she cooed, the door falling shut behind her as Harry sat back up, watching her push the bed closer. “He’s already charming the hell out of the doctors in the nursery, I’ll tell you that…” 

Louis grinned, watching with careful eyes as she leaned down and scooped him up gently in her arms, a small little blue bundle that wriggled slightly. She glanced up at Louis and smiled, leaning forward and placing him down in Louis’ waiting arms gently.

It all felt strangely unreal to Louis; he looked down at his son’s face and melted as he blinked up at him with large, blue eyes. His tiny fist broke its way from beneath his blanket, curling and uncurling his small fingers as Lauren gave them some privacy, stepping out of the room quietly. 

Harry was covering his mouth with both of his hands, still struggling to keep calm and Louis giggled at him, looking up at him. 

“He’s got your dark hair, love,” he mused, watching Harry nod in agreement and drop his hands, a huge smile spread across his face. 

“Wait, what am I doing?” Harry quickly reached down into his pocket, pulling out his phone and pulling up the camera, standing up and positioning it in front of his face. 

Louis blushed, turning his head back down to face his son as Harry snapped a picture, quietly cheering to himself before he sat down again. 

“Yeah, that’s definitely going to be posted everywhere,” he said, Louis smiling and looking over, watching Harry set it to his wallpaper before locking his phone and setting it on the side table. “My two favorite boys in the whole entire world.” 

Louis felt his cheeks heat up even more, biting his lip gently before nodding towards him. “What about you? You haven’t been able to hold him yet…” Harry perked up a bit, shifting around nervously in his chair.

“I know, but...what if I don’t do it right and he cries?” Louis snorted and shook his head, turning his body slightly to face him. 

“You’ll be fine, love. Come on, get ready…” Louis leaned forward gently and Harry met him halfway, slowly setting their son down in his large arms, both of them leaning back at the same time as Harry’s face seemed to blank out. 

Louis smiled to himself, watching as his husband gently shifted him around to let his head rest against his bicep, the baby yawning at Harry in response.

“See? What did I tell you?” Louis teased, relaxing against his pillows as Harry kept grinning, reaching down with his finger to touch his son’s nose. Louis leaned forward and picked up their bag off the floor, pulling out his phone to snap a picture and smiled to himself as he scrolled through the insane amount of text messages he had received the past couple of hours.. 

Three from Nikki:' i saw you leave out the back with Harry, is everything okay? Did we mess something up in the opening number? '

'We cant find you and it’s intermission???? Are you sick'

'OH MY GOD IS THE BABY COMING???? SORRY IM BLOWING UP YOUR PHONE '

One from his mother: 'How’s everything going, my love? Give me a call sometime tomorrow! X '

One from Niall: 'i still have ur popcorn bowl from like months ago. Will swing by and give it back, wanna have dinner this week? '

Louis smiled, closing his messages app and pulling up his camera, looking up to see Harry gently stroking their son’s cheek, murmuring softly to him. 

“Are you tired, little one? You can sleep, it’s okay…” Louis felt his heart swell up inside his chest, chewing on his lip fondly before lifting his hand up, taking a quick picture and staring at it for a moment, feeling strangely warm inside. 

He pulled up the texting app once more, scrolling and finding his mum’s earlier text, typing a quick reply. 

I’m doing just fine, mum. Great, actually… 

He attached the picture he had just taken and sent it, smirking to himself and mentally preparing for the screaming call he’d get in a few hours time when she woke up and saw it.  
He sat his phone down on the bed, messing idly with one of the IV’s in the top of his hand before catching a glimpse of the silver ring Harry had gotten him for his birthday, grinning softly. 

He glanced back up at his husband, who was fondly watching their son sleep in his arms, rocking back and forth slightly before he spoke up. 

“I didn’t think I could fall in love with someone so fast,” he mused, gently tucking the baby’s hand back into the blanket before looking up and smiling. “Well, not counting you. I fell in love the moment I saw you.” 

Louis blushed a deep crimson color, messing gently with his ring and watching him carefully. “Remember when we first met? At L.A.X. at like, 3 am?” 

Harry smiled happily and nodded. “Of course I do...you were sitting on the floor of Terminal B by yourself, falling asleep against the wall and I walked over and asked you where Jackson Street was…” Louis grinned at the memory, leaning back against the pillows. 

“And I told you that I’d just landed here for the first time, and you sighed in relief because so had you…” Harry smiled, looking back down at his sleeping son. 

“Mhmm...then we both decided we’d go find it together, and I let you stay in my hotel that night and…” He shrugged, running his thumb along the top of his soft hair. “The rest is history.” 

Louis fell silent, still fidgeting with his ring and watching them quietly, listening to the beeping of the machines around him before he sat back up, gasping in shock. 

“Oh my God!” Harry jerked his head up and frowned, sitting up in his own chair. 

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Louis was staring directly at their baby, his mouth slightly agape before meeting Harry’s eyes. 

“That’s his name! Jackson!” Harry blinked for a moment, his frown slowly disappearing as he turned back down to face his son, his eyes lighting up and breaking out into a grin before nodding. 

“Yes...yes, that’s his name, he’s definitely a Jackson…” Louis beamed happily from his bed, leaning down and reaching over to touch his tiny hand. 

“How’s Jackson for a name, yeah? The name of the street your dad first kissed me on, the same one he proposed at…” Jackson yawned sleepily at him in response, crinkling his nose slightly and blinking slowly. Harry laughed softly, looking up and meeting Louis’ eyes once more. 

“I think he likes it…” he murmured, his green eyes scanning his face briefly before falling on his lips as Louis swallowed thickly, feeling his face heat up again. 

“Yeah, I think so too…” he murmured, his voice faltering as Harry leaned forward gently, pressing his lips gently to Louis’, his eyes fluttering shut. 

Louis kissed him back just as sweetly, his hand still resting delicately on Jackson’s blankets before they pulled away with a soft smacking noise, their faces inches from each other as they whispered into each other’s mouths. 

“I love you so much, Louis Tomlinson…” 

“And I love you too, Harry Styles.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please leave comments/kudos if you enjoyed :)


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